2010 emails show Falcons worried about use of painkillers

By Jim Litke, Sports Writer

Published 11:27 am, Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

This Jan. 27, 2017 photo shows Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff answering questions from the media at the NFL football team’s practice facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. A string of emails that began in 2010 with the Atlanta Falcons head trainer and reached all the way to owner Arthur Blank showed a franchise worried about its ‘excessive’ reliance on painkillers to treat players and the potential embarrassment that could cause the team and the NFL. less

This Jan. 27, 2017 photo shows Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff answering questions from the media at the NFL football team’s practice facility in Flowery Branch, Ga. A string of emails ... more

Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman

2010 emails show Falcons worried about use of painkillers

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

An email chain released in court shows Atlanta Falcons officials in 2010 were worried about the team’s “excessive” reliance on painkillers to treat players and the potential embarrassment that could cause.

The officials expressed concerned over a review that found the team spent $81,000 on prescriptions for medications for players in 2009 — nearly three times the league average.

Nearly every recipient on the email chain — from Blank, president Rich McKay and general manager Thomas Dimitroff to then-head athletic trainer Marty Lauzon — is still with the team, which plays New England in the Super Bowl on Sunday.

The emails were entered into the court record Thursday as part of a proposed class-action lawsuit by former NFL players.